FurMark is the best free utility for stress testing video cards. Signs of a video card failure - how to check the video adapter for serviceability
During computer operation, various defects may appear on the screen in the form of artifacts, synchronization failures, “noise” and stripes, and in such situations you need to determine what is causing the problem. To conduct a full testing of a video card, programs such as Furmark are used.
Frequent causes of such troubles include overheating, swelling of capacities on the board, the use of outdated drivers, as well as various errors in the operation of the video card’s RAM. That is why you need to use Furmark, with the help of which you can determine the reliable cause of the problem.
How to use the program?
1. You need to download the program from the official website and install it on your computer. If you have already downloaded this program before, we recommend downloading it again and installing it again, since the update process adds new video card models and improves the technologies used by the program, which ensures more efficient testing at all stages.
2. After launching in the main settings window, you can separately launch the GPU-Z and GPU Shark utilities, which allow you to obtain additional information about the operation of your video card. In the drop-down menu you can configure the desired resolution, anti-aliasing and full screen function.
3. Button " Setting" takes you to the main test settings, where it is recommended to set " GPUtemperaturealarm» and enter the maximum permissible temperature value (preferably no more than 80 o C). This must be done to eliminate the possibility of damage to the video card processor during overheating. Below you can select the duration of the test in milliseconds, and, if desired, activate logging of power, temperature and other characteristics.
4. To start testing, you need to select one of five buttons. To activate the scan with the settings you entered, click on “ Custompreset».
It is worth noting that before performing the test, you will check the current temperature of the video card, which can be done using the “ Sensors" in the window " GPU-Z" It is highly not recommended to start the testing procedure if the current temperature of the video card processor is 70-90 o C.
This temperature indicates that the radiator cooling system is not powerful enough, and you first need to check the condition of the cooling fan, as well as the tightness of the contact between the processor and the radiator. Special attention should be paid to thermal paste, because many users forget that it must be replaced periodically.
After starting testing, a message will appear stating what risks may be present in the process of overclocking this equipment, and to continue the procedure you will need to click on the “ GO!».
In the test window you can see basic information about the mode, frequency and load of the GPU, and at the bottom there will be a graph of temperature growth versus time.
It is worth saying that even with the “ GPUtemperaturealarm" the program will not stop when a certain value is reached, but will only give you a warning that the value has been reached. For this reason, it is highly recommended not to leave the computer until the end of the testing procedure, and at temperatures above 100 o C, the entire procedure is carried out at your own peril and risk.
After the work has been completed, the user is presented with a window in which the main test results will be located, such as the maximum temperature and basic information about the system. If there are no image defects, sudden changes in temperature, and the characteristics correspond to those specified by the manufacturer, we can say that the testing was successful.
If you want to check your video card for stability, then you can’t do without special utilities that can load the graphics processor to the maximum and measure their performance at once. It must be admitted that there are few free programs of this class that can really seriously load modern video cards, one of them is an honored veteran, which is constantly updated and can put all the most productive graphics cards on their knees.
The program installation process follows a shortened standard script, where you need to confirm the license agreement, select the folder where the FurMark files will be located and indicate where the icons for launching applications will be located. We wait a few seconds, after which the utility will be completely ready for use.
Before you launch, I want to warn you FurMark is a real test of the survivability of your video card. The program forces the processor and power subsystem to work at extreme levels. No other games or test packages load the graphics card like FurMark does, so you need to use it wisely and without fanaticism.
FurMark can operate in two stress test modes, which will continuously drive the video card under maximum load, and benchmark, to check the performance of the graphics subsystem.
To run the test, click on the “GPU Stress test” button. If necessary, you can make small settings by selecting screen resolution, anti-aliasing level and allowing to work in full screen mode, in the left column.
The benchmark can be launched by pressing one of the buttons: “Custom preset”, “Preset:2160”, “Preset:1440”, “Preset:1080” and “Preset:720”. Where “GPU benchmarks” are tests with your graphics settings, and Preset is the same test, only with settings from the developers, tailored for screens with the most popular resolutions.
After launching a benchmark or test, a warning window will pop up in front of you that the application may harm your hardware and the developers are not responsible for it. After you click “OK”, you will have to look at the spinning fur donut, the graphics chip temperature graph and the running frame rate per second. If you run the benchmark, you will see the number of parrots that the graphics card produced; in the case of a stress test, the program will run indefinitely, which must be closed manually.
You can also test the processor using FurMark by clicking the “GPU Burener” button, where you can set the number of threads that will be launched. True, there is no monitoring, and it is rarely updated; in general, it is of dubious value for us, with the exception of the ability to test the processor well and check the stability of its operation.
Finally, to top it off, FurMark comes with a couple of utilities “GPU benchmarks” and “CPU-Z GPU Shark”, which allow you to find out detailed information about the video card and monitor its various parameters. But we won’t write about them in detail in this article; these are full-fledged programs worthy of a separate description.
From the settings, it is possible to adjust the duration of tests, set a limit on the maximum temperature of the graphics chip, upon reaching which a warning will pop up and FurMark will stop the test so as not to ruin the video cards and enable detailed logs of computer operation statistics. It is also possible to change some minor graphic settings. Screenshots of the FurMark screen in 3D mode can be taken by pressing “F9”, which are automatically saved in the program folder, and key help in tests can be called up by pressing “F1”.
Today, FurMark is the best utility for stress testing video cards, creating an extreme load that no other games, programs or benchmarks can provide. In my case, the graphics chip reached the maximum permissible power consumption and reset the frequencies, which it does not do in any game.
FurMark is useful for people who bought a used or new video card and want to check the stability of its operation. Plus, fans of overclocking or downvolting will be able to check the stability of the graphics chip and memory when they experimentally try to find the maximum frequencies for the chip, changing the voltage at a time.
Keep in mind that it is not advisable to keep this program running for hours, and there is also no point in subjecting the video card to a stress test frequently. Of course, do not forget to set the temperature limits of the graphics chip 5-10 degrees lower than the maximum permissible declared by the manufacturer of the chip.
The program works great on 32 and 64 bit operating systems. The program interface is only in English, there are no other localizations. But here you only need to translate a couple of phrases, which will not be difficult to do with the help of a translator.
FurMark is a popular synthetic stress test for video cards. Nicknamed the donut, in part because during the test a figure resembling the shape of a donut is displayed on the screen.
Areas of application for FurMark:
- Checking the stability of the video card. Many people use this program to test a video card for stability after overclocking and identify artifacts. If you are going to buy a video card on the used market, it makes sense to run a benchmark before purchasing.
- Video card heating monitoring. The temperature of the GPU plays an important role in its operation, as a result of which there is a need to check the temperature to determine the need to clean the computer from dust, replace thermal paste, and measure the noise from the cooling system under maximum load.
- Checking the power of the power supply. If your system has a weak power supply then the system will most likely turn off during the test. This will indicate the need to replace the power supply with a more powerful one. Please note that you should choose blocks from well-known brands with warranty service. We recommend choosing one with a power of at least 400 W.
FurMark how to use
The developer does not stand still, he has been releasing updates for a long time, before starting to use FurMark, we recommend downloading the latest version from the official website of the developer. http://www.geeks3d.com/
Let's move on to answering the question: how to use FurMark? Having launched the program, a small window will open in which we have to make settings and run the test itself. If you don’t want to bother with settings, the developers have provided presets that run the benchmark up to 4K resolution. You need to click on the button with the resolution of your monitor screen and the test will start. Let's take a closer look at the user settings.
The first thing you should pay attention to is the resolution of the screen in which we go to conduct a stress test; as a rule, we choose the resolution of our monitor 1920x1080. Check the box next to Fullscreen (full screen) according to your preference.
At the next stage, go to Settings and check the box next to Max GPU temperature alarm and set the value to 90. If, as a result of the test, the temperature of the video card reaches 90 degrees, we will be notified with a sound similar to the sound of an alarm, which will tell us about the need to immediately complete the test and think about it , in the causes of high temperature. To write test results to a separate file, check the Log GPU data box.
Want to do an extreme workout? You can do this by setting anti-aliasing to Anti-aliasing and selecting 8x MSAA. Use the button to launch, we have already written about it in one of the articles, which will make monitoring the system even more convenient.
MSI Kombustor how to use
In terms of their purpose, these programs are similar, but they differ from each other, for example, MSI Kombustor contains a wide variety of tests, but only one is available in FurMark. MSI Kombustor how to use? It’s very simple, to do this, run the program, select permissions, a test from the proposed list and click Start benchmark.
Good afternoon.
The performance of the video card directly influences the speed of games (especially new games). By the way, games, at the same time, are one of the best programs for testing a computer as a whole (in the same special testing programs, separate “pieces” of games are often used, from which the number of frames per second is measured).
Usually they carry out testing when they want to compare a video card with other models. For many users, the performance of a video card is measured only by memory (although in fact, sometimes cards with 1Gb of memory work faster than with 2Gb. The fact is that the amount of memory plays a role to a certain extent*, but it is also important what kind of processor is installed on the video card , bus frequency, etc. parameters).
In this article I would like to consider several options for testing a video card for performance and stability.
Important!
1) By the way, before you start testing the video card, you need to update (install) the drivers for it. The easiest way to do this is using special. programs for automatically searching and installing drivers:
2) Video card performance is usually measured by the number of FPS (frames per second) produced in various games at different graphics settings. A good indicator for many games is considered to be 60 FPS. But for some games (for example, turn-based strategies), the 30 FPS bar is also a very acceptable value...
FurMark
An excellent and simple utility for testing a wide variety of video cards. I myself, of course, don’t test that often, but out of more than several dozen models, I haven’t come across a single one that the program couldn’t work with.
FurMark performs stress testing by heating the video card adapter to maximum. This way the card is tested for maximum performance and stability. By the way, the stability of the computer is checked in general, so, for example, if the power supply is not strong enough to ensure the operation of the video card, the computer may simply reboot...
How to test?
1. Close all programs that can heavily load your PC (games, torrents, videos, etc.).
2. Install and run the program. By the way, it usually automatically detects your video card model, its temperature, and available screen resolution modes.
3. After selecting the resolution (in my case, the standard resolution for a laptop is 1366x768), you can start the test: to do this, click on the CPU Benchmark Present 720 or CPU Stress test button.
4. Card testing will start. At this time, it is better not to touch the PC. The test usually lasts a few minutes (the percentage of test time remaining will be displayed at the top of the screen).
4. After this, FurMark will present you with the results: all the characteristics of your computer (laptop), video card temperature (maximum), number of frames per second, etc. will be indicated here.
To compare your performance with the performance of other users, you need to click the Submit button.
5. In the browser window that opens, you can see not only your submitted results (with the number of points scored), but also the results of other users, and compare the number of points.
OCCT
This is the name for Russian-speaking users to recall OST (industry standard...). The program has nothing in common with OST, but testing a video card with a fairly high quality standard - it is more than capable of this!
The program is able to test the video card in various modes:
With support for various pixel shaders;
With different DirectX (9 and 11 versions);
Check the card at a user-specified time;
Save test schedules for the user.
How to test a card in OCCT?
1) Go to the GPU: 3D (Graphics Processor Unit) tab. Next you need to set the basic settings:
Testing time (even 15-20 minutes are enough to test a video card, during which the main parameters and errors will be identified);
Resolution and pixel shaders;
It is highly advisable to enable the checkbox to search for and check errors during testing.
In most cases, you can only change the time and run the test (the program will configure everything else automatically).
2) During the test, in the upper left corner, you can observe various parameters: card temperature, number of frames per second (FPS), testing time, etc.
3) After the end of the test, on the right, on the program graphs you can see the temperatures and FPS indicator (in my case, when the video card processor was loaded at 72% (DirectX 11, squeak shaders 4.0, resolution 1366x768) - the video card produced 52 FPS).
Particular attention should be paid to errors during testing (Errors) - their number should be zero.
Test errors.
In general, usually after 5-10 minutes. It becomes clear how the video card behaves and what it is capable of. This test allows you to check for kernel (GPU) failures and memory performance. In any case, the check should not include the following points:
Computer freezes;
The monitor blinks or turns off, the picture disappears from the screen or freezes;
Blue screens;
Significant increase in temperature, overheating (the temperature of the video card above 85 degrees Celsius is undesirable. The causes of overheating can be: dust, a broken cooler, poor ventilation of the case, etc.);
Error messages appear.
Important! By the way, some errors (for example, blue screen, computer freezing, etc.) can be caused by “incorrect” operation of drivers or Windows OS. It is recommended to reinstall/update them and test the operation again.
Probably one of the most famous testing programs. Most of the testing results published in various publications, websites, etc. were carried out in it.
3D Mark 11 - for testing video cards that support DirectX 11.0. This is where I will focus in this article.
There are several versions available for download on the official website (there are paid ones, and there is a free version - Free Basic Edition). We will choose a free one for our test; besides, its capabilities are more than enough for most users.
How to test?
1) Launch the program, select the “Benchmark test only” option and click the Run 3D Mark button (see screenshot below).
2. Next, various tests begin to load in turn: first the bottom of the sea ocean, then the jungle, pyramids, etc. Each test checks how the processor and video card will behave when processing various data.
3. Testing lasts about 10-15 minutes. If there were no errors during the test, after closing the last test, a tab with your results will open in your browser.
You can compare your results and FPS measurements with other participants. By the way, the best results are shown in the most prominent place on the site (you can immediately evaluate the best gaming video cards).
All the best...
A video card is an important part of computer hardware. If various defects, artifacts, synchronization failures, stripes and noise appear on the screen, find out what is causing this. Defects can appear as a result of overheating, outdated drivers, errors in the graphics card memory, etc. To carry out testing, various programs are used, but to check all characteristics simultaneously, as well as under stress, it is recommended to use the free Furmark program. It is also called “hairy cube”, “hairy donut”. Why? You will learn this while using the program.
Attention! You perform all the manipulations described below at your own peril and risk. The site administration does not bear any responsibility for the consequences arising from your use of the Furmark program.
The program is in English, but working with it will not be difficult, especially since in this article we will explain everything in detail. First, download the latest distribution from the developer’s website. Installation is easy and we won’t stop there.
So, after launch, if you want to find out information about the video card, press GPU-Z or GPU Shark. Next, in the Resolution line in the drop-down menu, set the appropriate resolution or Full screen mode, as well as the desired Anti-aliasing. The Setting button opens the test settings window. Here we recommend installing GPU temperature alarm and specifying . This is necessary in order not to damage the video card processor due to overheating. Below you can set the duration of the test in milliseconds (Benchmark duration ms). If desired, enable a log of temperature, power and other parameters.
To run a test using your settings, click the Benchmark (user’s setting) button. Do not run testing if the video card temperature is in the region of 70-90 degrees! You can check the temperature in the GPU Shark or GPU-Z windows. First, make sure you have good cooling. Check the operation of the cooler and the tightness of contact between the radiator and the video card processor.
When you run the test, a window will appear warning you about the risk of using the program. To continue, press GO, and if you want to cancel, click Cancel.
In the test window you will see the parameter values and a graph of temperature changes. It should be noted that if the set temperature is exceeded, a message will pop up in the program window, but the test continues to run. Don't leave this process unattended. Temperatures over 100 degrees can damage the video card processor!
When the test is completed, a window with test results will appear. All you have to do is analyze the obtained values.
To run the test in other modes, use other buttons. When you press the F1 key during the test, we will get a list of keys and their assignments: F9 – take a screenshot, ESC – exit. It is also possible to disable unnecessary information in the test window.
